Winners of our FREE monthly
53-Word Story Contest
Each month we offer a prompt to subscribers of Prime Number Magazine to write a 53-word story—no more, no less—and send it to us by the fifteenth (15th) day of the month. Our judges select one winning story, and the author receives a book from Press 53 as well as publication here, in Prime Number Magazine. Want to play along? Subscribe to Prime Number Magazine and we’ll send you the prompt on the first day of each month.
Below, read our winners for
January: Darcee A. Freier / February: Rachel Jager / March: Ada Young
Darcee A. Freier
January 2021
Prompt:
January has 7 letters and is named for the Roman god, Janus, which has 5 letters. Janus has 2 faces and presides over doors and beginnings. The month of January can be expressed with the number 1. And, each of these numbers can be counted using the 10 appendages on your two hands.
Write a 53-word story about digits
Followed by 53-Word Author Bio
New and Improved
Fingers flutter. Fly. The quarter disappears. With a snap, Roger pulls the quarter from Lucy’s pocket.
“My turn,” says Lucy. She shows the quarter, palms it. The quarter clatters to the ground. Frustrated, Lucy stomps hard and trips. Roger drives her to the ER.
“Forget quarters,” says Lucy, “I can make Franklins disappear.”
~ ~ ~
53-Word Bio
Darcee A. Freier lives in Colorado with her husband, son and demanding Yorkie. Between dog walks, Darcee writes, crafts, volunteers, and does bookkeeping for the family business. She began her career in software engineering, raised two kids, then found her passion in writing. For fun, she studies poetry with a quartet of octogenarians.
Rachel Jager
February 2021
Prompt:
Tapping a keg of beer can take some practice. Writing a story usually requires a revision or two. On six different occasions the United States employed military conscription. Many bills are deducted automatically from our bank accounts. Cyclists utilize aerodynamics via slipstream. Horses. Is it cold in here? I thought I felt something.
Write a 53-word story about a draft
Followed by 53-Word Author Bio
What She's Having
Sinking into a barstool, her body deflated under the shoulder pads that suddenly made her feel like she was playing dress-up in her father’s closet. Replaying scenes from the boardroom, she cursed her indecision and swore that she was done going with the flow.
“What’ll it be?”
“Whatever is on tap is fine.”
~ ~ ~
53-Word Bio
Rachel Jager lives with her husband and three children in New Jersey, where she enjoys trying new recipes and singing songs from the 90s. Contrary to popular belief, she did not become a freelance writer just to have an excuse to drink endless amounts of coffee (but it is definitely her favorite perk).
Ada Young
March 2021
Prompt:
The Ides of March is familiar. Beware! However, “ides” does not come up that often elsewhere. That makes it a fossil word: in use thanks to a particular phrase, but otherwise obsolete. Ides is kith and kin with “petard,” “druthers,” and, well, “kith”—relegated to the dusty files of lingual archaeologists. Good “riddance”?
Without further “ado,” write a 53-word story about fossils
Followed by 53-Word Author Bio
Underground Fugitive
My leader’s cloaked form staggered as we fled. Cries pierced the air. The barrel of a gun flashed. The doors of the safehouse were boarded, shielding the terror.
The babe I swaddled was numbingly cold.
The ground found us, accepted us, held us close. The world takes lives, but the earth keeps them.
~ ~ ~
53-Word Bio
Ada Young lives in Thibodaux, Louisiana and is in the 7th grade. She credits her English teachers with encouraging her to embrace creativity. Ada enjoys taking pottery classes and runs a small sewing business to serve her community. Almost every summer, Ada travels to exciting places and collects wonderful inspiration for her writings.